It’s been
31 years since Werder last entertained Darmstadt at the Weser-Stadion, but On
Saturday at 15:30 CET, the Lilies return to the green Bremen grass once more. The
game is one of great importance for Werder in their fight to get points on the
board and get out of the relegation play-off spot. WERDER.DE has put together
all the pre-match statistics and thoughts of the head coach before the game.
Did you know that…
… Darmstadt have never won in Bremen? There have been four games between the two in Bremen. In 1978 in finished 3-0 Werder, in 1982 a 4-4 draw was played out, while in 1983 and 84, Darmstadt suffered two 5-0 defeats in the DFB Cup.
… this season, however, Darmstadt have good away form? In eleven away games so far this season, the Lilies have only lost four, collecting 17 points on the road. Only Bayern and Dortmund have more.
… Darmstadt have a weakness? Dirk Schuster’s side have made the fewest passes in the league: 5,462 in comparison to Werder’s 7,937. They also have the worst pass accuracy with 55.6 %.
… Werder shouldn’t read too much into Darmstadt’s poor form of late? The team from Hessen have lost five of their last seven but they were all against top sides: Hertha, Gladbach, Schalke, Leverkusen and Bayern.
… director of sport Thomas Eichin sees it as a crucial match? "It’s an enormously important game for us. We have to win. Our situation has intensified since the Ingolstadt loss. After the game we’ll know where we’re heading," he said.
… Viktor Skripnik wants to see a mixture of technical and physical football? "We want to power ourselves to a win. ‘It will be important to play a mixture of technical and physical football. We can’t go all-out attack."
… the game will be a déjà vu for Werder? Darmstadt have Werder loanee Luca Caldirola among their ranks, but also former players Sandro Wagner, Peter Niemeyer and Tobias Kempe. A blast from the Werder past.
… Skripnik rates Darmstadt highly? "Darmstadt are powerful and hae a good team mentality. They fight for their lives on the pitch and show that football doesn’t need money to work. That has a big influence on me. They are, however, direct competitors and we want to beat them on Saturday,” said the 49-year-old.
… the defence must be wary? Sandro Wagner has scored four of Werder’s six in the second half of the season and, with five header’s is one of the Bundesliga’s leading strikers in this respect. Only Robert Lewandowski and Alex Meier have scored more.
… it is not just Wagner, however, who is good in the area? Darmstadt have scored the most headed goals in the Bundesliga with 23.
… you can follow the game live? Head over to Twitter and follow us @werderbremen_en for pre-match coverage and a live, minute-by-minute ticker!
